Shoemaking means



sHoEMAKING MEANS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 16, 1938 Dec. 3l, 1940.

J. FAussE 2,226,758

SHOEMAKING MEANS Filed Dec. 16, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 if i Patented Dec. 3l, 1940 ED S ATES PATENT OFFICE Shoe Machinery Corporation, Borough Flemington, N. J., a corporation oi' New Jersey Application December 16, 1938, Serial No. 246,192

19 Claims.

This invention relates to means for use in the manufacture of shoes and is herein illustrated in its application to means for use in the manufacture of prewelted shoes, that is, shoes in the manufacture of which a welt is stitched to the lasting margin of the upper before the upper is lasted,

It is an object of the present invention to provide improved means for supporting or sustaining an outward sole attaching extension of a shoe during the attachment of a sole thereto by pressure. It is a further object of the invention to provide simple and inexpensive devices which may be employed to last a prewelted upper and to support the welt during the attachment of a sole thereto.

With the above objects in view the invention in one aspect thereof provides a flexible member constructed and arranged to embrace an end portion of an upper on a last, said member being portable with the upper, and a plate carried by said member and constructed and arranged to extend inwardly from said member for engagement within the crease between the upper and an outward sole attaching extension and to extend outwardly from said member to engage the -outer margin of said extension. As illustrated in the drawings, said member comprises a resilient band constructed and arranged to embrace an end portion of the upper and having a plurality of plates rigidly mounted thereon and arranged to engage said sole-attaching extension. When said member and its plates are employed in the ate as lasting wipers to work the welted margin into lasted position as said member 1s advanced lengthwise of the upper and closes on the upper by its own resiliency. In the construction herein illustrated two such members are provided. Said 40 members when closed on a prewelted upper completely encompass the upper and support the welt throughout its entire extent for the attachment of a sole thereto. For advancing said members into the welt crease of a prewelted upper, the

illustrated construction, in accordance with a further `feature of the invention, provides an Vendless cable having a horizontal loop constructed and arranged to extend about the toe portion of a prewelted upper on a last, a horizontal loop' lli-ing away from the upper. While the cable 1S manufacture of prewelted shoes the plates operherein illustrated as a device for operating the illustrated lasting members it will be understood that the cable itself could be employed to last the end Portions of a prewelted upper by positioning the horizontal loops of the cable in the welt crease of a prewelted upper and operating the cable in the manner hereinafter described.

Another feature of the invention resides in means for use in the manufacture of prewelted shoes comprising side-lasting wipers for lasting opposite sides of the forepart, shank-lasting wipers, a plurality of comparatively narrow endlasting wipers arranged to act on the toe and heel ends of an upper, and means for supporting said wipers for engagement within the welt crease of a prewelted upper on a last. As illustrated in the drawings, the side wipers, together with the narrow toe wipers, are mounted on a forepartembracing band and the shank wipers and heel wipers are mounted on a rear-part-embracing band. The end-embracing members and the lasting wipers mounted thereon are portable with the shoe after the lasting operation has been completed and may be employed to hold the upper in lasted position until a sole is attached thereto. If desired they may remain on the shoe while a sole is cement-attached to the welt in a sole-attaching machine.

These and other features of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings and pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a front elevation illustrating the lasting devices on a prewelted upper and means for operating said devices to last the upper, a standard at one side of the operating means being partly broken away;

Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation taken substantially on the line II-II of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a plan view showing part of the upper, last, lasting devices and operating means illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the forepartlasting device; and

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view through one side of the forepart of a lasted prewelted upper showing the forepart-lasting device in lasting position, and part of a sole applied to the welt.

Referring to Figs. 2, 4 and 5, the illustrated lasting means comprises a forepart-embracing device I and a rearpart-embracing device i2. The forepart-embracing device Ill comprises a resilient band or plate I6 (Fig. 4) having parallel cross strips I6 (Fig. 2) secured to its outer surface, for example, by rivets I8. Each strip I6 extends beyond the edge of the band I4 and its end portion is bent outwardly from the band I4 (Fig. 5), then folded back on itseli and arranged 5 to extend inwardly over the edge of the band I4 to provide a lasting wiper 20 constructed and arranged for engagement within the welt crease at the toe portion of a prewelted upper, for ex- ,ample the prewelted upper illustrated at 22 inl Fig. 5. As illustrated in Fig. 4 the wipers 20 are spaced apart from each other sufficiently to permit the device I0 to be opened or expanded enough to permit it to be mounted on theforepar-t of a prewelted upper on a last. For lasting the forepart of the upper rearwardly of that portion of the upper which is lasted by the wipers 20. two plates 24 are secured to the end portions of the plate I4. Side-lasting wipers 2i are formed on the end portions of the plates 24 similar to the 2 toe wipers 20. The wipers 25 diil'er from the toe wipers only in that they are substantially wider than the toe wipers lengthwise of the upper` The wipers 20 and 28 operate towork the welted margin of the upper into lasted position 25 as the forepart-lasting device closes or contracts upon the forepart of the upper and is moved bodily toward the heel end of the upper. In its normal position, as illustrated in Fig. 4, the forepart-lasting device is closed to a slightly greater 3 extent than 1t is closed at the end of the lasting operation. Thus it will be seen that the resiliency of the band I4 will cause the forepart-lasting device to close on the forepart of a prewelted upper and advance the extensions or wipers 20 and 26 widthwise of the upper, causing them to last the forepart of the upper. To facilitate the removal of the forepart-lasting device from the upper two handles 28 and 30 are secured to opposite sides of the band I4 and extend in substantially parallel relation beyond the toe-engaging end of the lasting member, the end portions of the handles being conveniently arranged for engagement by one hand of the operator to move them toward each other thereby to expand the forepart-lasting device and disengage it from the upper.

The extensions or wipers 20 and 2i above referred to are constructed and arranged to last a left foot upper. For lasting a right foot upper the lasting device I0 is provided with similar extensions or wipers I2 and 24 (Fig. 4) for lasting the toe portion and the sides of the forepart, respectively, of a right foot shoe. It will be understood that merely inverting the forepart-lasting device arranges it for operation on a right foot upper after previously having operated on a left foot upper. It will also be understood that when the forepart-lasting device is arranged as illustrated in Fig. 4 for operation on a left foot upper the wipers 32 and 34 are so positioned that they do not engage the upper or interfere in any way with the lasting of a left foot upper by the wipers 20 and 26. Referring to Fig. 3, the rear-part-lasting device I2, which is similar in its construction and operation to the forepart-lasting device I 0, is provided with narrow lasting wipers 38 for lasting the heel end of a prewelted upper, said wipers being spaced apart from each other similarly to the wipers 20 of the forepart-lasting device in order to permit a limited expansion of the rear-partlasting device. For lasting the shank vportion of the upper at opposite sides thereof the rear-part.. lasting device has wipers 40 which are much wider than the wipers 3B and are similar in their construction and operation to the iorepart wipers 2l. The rear-part-lasting device ilares downwardly and outwardly from the wipers 38 and 40 in order to avoid contact with the upper and also to permit sumcient advancement of the wipers to 5 last the rear part of the upper. The rear-partlasting device has only one set of wipers, no duplication being necessary since the rear parts oi small children's shoes are substantially symmetrical. 10

In most cases no special apparatus or machine is required to operate the lasting devices. Varlous ways to operate these devices would occur to `rslcilled workman. One way is to hold one end gf the shoe, for}example the forepart of the 15 shoe. in one hand and apply the heel-lasting device to the heel end of the shoe with the other hand; then, while supporting the shoe by its heel end, apply the forepart-lasting device to the forepart of the shoe.

After the lasting operation has been completed the lasting wipers extend completely around the upper and .Support the welt in position for attachment of a sole thereto. The sole, which may be either a midsole or an outsole, may be se- 25 cured in any known manner. For example. the sole could be provisionally secured to the welt by latex or rubber cement and permanently secured by a sewn seam after the lasting devices are removed from the upper or the sole could be per- 30 manently attached to the welt, for example, by pyroxylin cement, in which case the lasted upper with the lasting devices still applied to it would be positioned together with the sole in a sole-laying press such, for example, as that illustrated in United States Letters Patent No. 2,047,185, granted July 14, 1936 on an application of M. H. Ballard et al. It will be understood that resiliency of the bands which supprt the Wipers will cause them to grip the upper and-hold the 40 wipers against retraction during the interim between the lasting and sole-attaching operations. While no special apparatus is required in most cases for lasting a prewelted upper by means of the lasting devices Ill and I2 the lasting opera- 45 tion is facilitated and speeded up by the use of mechanism such as that illustrated in Figs. l and 2 for drawing the lasting devices toward each other and working the wipers into lasting position. Referring to Fig. 2, this mechanism com- 50 prises a base 42 having standards 44 and 4B in which are mounted a toe rest 48 and a jack 50 having at its upper end a last pin (not shown). The jack 50 is pivoted in the upper portion oi-{the standard 46 for swinging movement lengthwise 55 of a supported shoe and a spring-pressed pin 52 is arranged to engage the base portion of the jack" and urge it in a counterclockwise direction, as s een in Fig. 2, to press the toe portion of the shoe downwardly against the toe rest. A stop screw 60 54 limits the swinging movement of the jack 50 when-there is no shoe mounted thereon. The jack is provided with a handle 55 which is pushed downwardly to position the Jack to receive a shoe. For working the lasting devices into lasting posi- 65 tion an endless cable or cord 56 is mounted on two pulleys 5I and 60 (Fig. l) on a cross shaft G2 carried by a treadle 64. 'I'he cable extends upwardly from the pulleys 58 and 60, one loop 66 of the cable being arranged to operate on the fore- 70 part-lasting device l0 while a loop 88 at the opposite end of the cable is arranged to operate on the rear-part-lasting device I2. Referring to Fig. 1, the loop extends over pulleys l0 and 'I2 at opposite sides of the supported shoe and extends 75 from said pulleys toward the toe end of the shoe and engages the forepart-lasting device adjacent to the toe-lasting wipers 20. Referring to Figs. 1 and 3, the pulleys 10 and 12 are carried by slides 14 and 16, respectively, which are mounted in T-ways in standards 18 and 80 for movement toward and from the supported shoe. The loop 68 which operates on the rear-part-lasting device I2 extends over pulleys 82 and 64 also carried by the slides 14 and L6 and positioned adjacent to the pulleys 10 and 12. For securing the slides 14 and 16 in adjusted position clamping screws 86 and 88 (Fig. 1) are provided. When there is no shoe on the work supports the loops 66 and 68 of the cable are mounted on the hooked ends of pins 90 and 92 extending upwardly from opposite ends of the base 42.

In lasting prewelted uppers by means of the lasting devices above described a prewelted upper on its last is mounted on the Work supports of the cable mechanism above described, the upper having previously been pulled over the last to prepare it for the lasting operation. The operator then opens or expands the forepart-lasting device I0 and the rear-part-lasting device I2 by gripping the handles thereof and arranges said devices so that their lasting wipers are positioned in the welt crease of the supported prewelted upper. The loop 66 of the cable 56 is then manually transferred from its position illustrated in broken lines in Fig. 2 to its position illustrated in full lines, in which position it is arranged to move the forepart-lasting device Ill toward the heel end of the upper upon depression of the treadle 64. Similarly the loop 68 of the cable 56 is transferred from its position illustrated inl broken lines in Fig. 2 to its position illustrated in full lines. The operator then depresses the treadle 64 to actuate the cable. As the cable is tightened on the lasting devices the opposite sides of the cable loops engage brackets 94 (Fig. 3) on the lasting devices and urge the side portions of the lasting devices toward each other to complete the lasting operation. After the lasting is completed and while the upper is held in lasted position by the lasting devices a sole, for example the outsole 96 shown in Fig. 5, is cement-attached to the welt.

While the invention is herein illustrated in its application to the lasting of prewelted uppers it is to be understood that the shoe-embracing devices I0 and I2 herein illustrated may be employed after the lasting has been performed in a manner diierent from that herein described to provide support for the outwardly extending portion of the Welt while a sole is secured to the welt by pressure. It will be understood that when the shoe-embracing devices are thus employed in a sole-attaching operation the plates 20, 26, 36 and 40 which enter the Welt crease function merely as welt supports and not as lasting wipers as above described. Furthermore, the utility of said shoe-embracing devices when employed in a soleattaching operation is not limited to the manufacture of prewelted shoes since these devices could be employed to support any outward extension to which soles are attached. For example, they could be employed in the manufacture of stitchdown shoes or Goodyear welt shoes in the same manner in which they could be employed in the attaching of soles to prewelted uppers.

It will also be understood that when the upperembracing devices are employed to last prewelted uppers any suitable mechanism or machine may be employed to operate said devices. For example, a prewelted upper with the upper-embracing devices mounted thereon could be mounted in a bed lasting machine having lasting wiperslsuch, for example, as those illustrated in Fig. 4 of United States Letters Patent No. 2,042,518, granted June 2, 1936 on an application of Karl Engel, and the lasting wipers operated to work said upper-embracing devices into lasting position. In this case it would be preferable that the handles 28 and 30 on the upper-embracing devices be so mounted that they could be removed before the shoe is mounted in the lasting machine. The lasting wipers would preferably engage the upper-embracing devices beneath and adjacent to the lasting wipers 20, 26, 38 and 40 similarly to the cable 56 as illustrated in Fig. 2. The brackets 94 would, of course, be omitted from the upper-embracing devices in the event that a machine provided with lasting plates should be employed to operate the devices.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. Means for use in the manufacture of shoes which have outward extensions to which soles are attached comprising a member constructed and arranged to embrace an end portion of an upper on a last, said member being portable with the upper, and a plate carried by said member and constructed and arranged to extend inwardly from said member for engagement within the crease formed between the upper and the soleattaching extension and to extend outwardly from said member.

2. Means for use in the manufacture of shoes which have outward extensions to which soles are attached comprising a. member constructed and arranged to embrace an end portion of an upper on a last, said member being iiexible widthwise of the last, and a plate carried by said member and constructed and arranged to extend inwardly from said member for engagement within the crease formed between the upper and the sole-attaching extension and to extend outwardly from said member to provide support for said extension during the attachment of a sole thereto.

3. Means for use in the manufacture of shoes which have outward extensions to which soles are attached comprising a member constructed and arranged to embrace an end portion of an upper on a last, said member being exible Widthwise of the last, and a plurality of plates carried by said member and constructed and arranged to extend inwardly from said member for engagement within the crease formed between the upper and the sole-attaching extension and outwardly from said member to support said extension during the attachment of a sole thereto.

4. Means for use in the manufacture of shoes which have outward extensions to which soles are attached comprising a member constructed and arranged to embrace an end portion of an upper on a last, said member being flexible widthwise of the last, and a. plurality of plates carried by said member and constructed and arranged to extend inwardly from said member for engagement within the crease formed between the upper and the sole-attaching extension and outwardly from said member to support said extension during the attachment of a sole thereto, said plates being spaced apart from each other so as not to interfere with the fiexure of said member.

5. Means for use in the manufacture of shoes which have outward extensions to which soles are attached comprising a member constructed and arranged to embrace the forepart of an upper on a last, a member constructed and arranged to embrace the rear part of the upper, each of said members being flexible Widthwise of the last, and means rigidly secured to each of said members and constructed and arranged to enter the crease between the upper and the soleattaching extension and to support said extension while a sole is attached thereto.

6. Means for use in the manufacture of shoes which have` welts tovwhich soles are attached comprising a member constructed and arranged to embrace the forepart of an upper on a last. a member constructed and arranged to embrace the rear part of the upper, each of said members being resilient and normally contracted against the upper, and means rigidly secured to each of said members and constructed and arranged to enter the crease between the welt and the upper and to hold the welt while a. sole is attached thereto.

7. Means for use in the manufacture of shoes which have outward extensions to which soles are attached comprising a member constructed and arranged to embrace an end portion of an upper on a last, said member being resilient and normally contracted against the upper, means rigidly secured to said member and constructed and arranged to enter the crease between the upper and the sole-attaching extension and to support said extension while a sole is attached thereto, shoe-supporting means, and means for advancing said member into said crease.

8. Means for use in lasting prewelted uppers comprising a` resilient band constructed to embrace an end portion of a prewelted upper on a last, and a plurality of comparatively narrow lasting wipers carried by said band-and arranged to extent inwardly from said band for engagement with the upper in the Welt crease and to extend outwardly from said band for engagement with the outer margin of the welt.

9. Means for use in lasting prewelted uppers comprising a resilient member constructed to embrace an end portion of a prewelted upper on a last, said member being portable with the upper, and a plurality of lasting wipers carried by said member and spaced apart from each other sufliciently to permit expansion and contraction of said member, the end portions of said member being normally positioned at least as close to each other as they are located at the completion of the lasting operation.

10. Means for use in lasting prewelted uppers comprising a resilient member constructed to embrace an end portion of a prewelted upper on a last, a plurality of lasting wipers carried by said member and spaced apart from each other suillciently to permit a limited expansion and contraction of said member, the end portions of said member being normally positioned at least as close to each other as they are located at the completion of the lasting operation, and manually operable means on said member constructed and arranged for expanding said member to permit the wipers to be positioned in the welt crease of the upper.

11. Means for use in lasting prewelted uppers comprising a resilient member constructed to embrace an end portion of a prewelted upper on a last, a plurality of narrow lasting Wipers carried by said member and spaced apart from each other suiliciently to permit a limited expansion and contraction oi said member, the end portions of said member being normally positioned at least as close to each other as they are located at the completion of the lasting operation, and a pair of handles operable to expand said member in order to permit the wipers to be positioned in the welt crease of the upper. v

12. Means for use in lasting prewelted uppers comprising means for lasting the toe portion of a right foot prewelted upper, means for lasting the toe portion of a left foot prewelted upper. and an upper-embracing member on which both said lasting means are mounted.

13. Means for use in lasting prewelted uppers comprising a plurality of lasting wipers for lasting the toe portion of a right foot prewelted upper, a plurality of lasting wipers for lasting the toe portion of a left foot prewelted upper, and a flexible toe-embracing member to which all of the wipers are secured.

14. Means for use in lasting prewelted uppers comprising a plurality of lasting wipers for lasting the toe portion of a right foot prewelted upper, a plurality of lasting wipers for lasting the toe portion of a left footprewelted upper, and a resilient toe-embracing member to which all of the wipers are secured, said member being normally so positioned that the lasting wipers which operate on opposite sides of the upper are at least as close to each other as they are located at the completion of the lasting operation.

15. Means for use in the manufacture of prewelted shoes comprising wipers for lasting opposite sides of the forepart, shank-lasting wipers, a plurality of comparatively narrow end-lasting wipers. and end-embracing members portable with the shoe for supporting said wipers and arranging them for engagement within the welt crease of a prewelted upper on a last.

16. Means for use in the manufacture of prewelted shoes comprising a pair of wipers for lasting opposite sides of the forepart, a plurality of toe-lasting wipers spaced apart from each other, a Iorepart-embracing member on which said wipers are mounted and whereby said wipers are arranged for operation on a prewelted upper on a last, a pair oi' shank-lasting wipers, a plurality of rear-part-lasting wipers spaced apart from each other, and a rear-part-embracing member on which the shank wipers and rear part Wipers are mounted and whereby said wipers are arranged for operation on the upper.

17. Means for use in lasting prewelted uppers comprising a member constructed and arranged to embrace an end portion of an upper on a last, said member being portable with the upper, and a plate carried by said member and constructed and arranged to extend inwardly from said member for engagement within the welt crease and to extend outwardly from said member to form in conjunction with said member an angle arranged to receive a iiexible member for drawing said lasting means into the welt crease.

18. Means for use in lasting prewelted uppers comprising an endless cable having a loop constructed and arranged to extend about the toe portion of a prewelted upper on a last, a loop constructed and arranged to extend about the heel portion of the upper and two loops extending away from the upper, means for actuating said cable, and pulleys on said actuating means arranged to receive said two loops extending away from the upper.

19. Means for use in lasting prewelted uppers comprising'an endless cable having a loop constructed and arranged to extend about the toe portion of a prewelted upper on a. last, a loop constructed and arranged to extend about the heel portion of the upper, a pulley at each side of the upper for supporting and guiding the cable, members for supporting said pulleys, a cable actuator, and pulleys on said actuator arranged to receive two loops of said cable extending from the cable guiding pulleys.

JOSEPH FAUSSE. 

